Warner Bros: Last News

Ellise Shafer UTA has signed content creator and multi-hyphenate Tefi Pessoa, aka Tefi, for worldwide agency representation in all areas. Known on TikTok as @hellotefi, she first gained prominence for her pop culture deep-dives on the platform, in which she breaks down hot topics like celebrity couples and scandals for her 1.5 million followers. UTA will find Tefi new opportunities in live events, film, scripted and unscripted television, podcasting and publishing. A proud Latina from Miami, Tefi currently hosts MTV’s YouTube competition series “Merch Masters,” where designers create merchandise for music stars like Lil Nas X and Machine Gun Kelly to win a cash prize. She also serves as InStyle’s exclusive social media host and regularly appears on the magazine’s TikTok channel. She has worked as a TikTok red carpet correspondent for Warner Bros. and collaborated with Paramount, Netflix, Focus Features, Hulu, Peacock, ABC and DirecTV, as well as music festivals like Governor’s Ball and Coachella. In 2021, she was nominated as a TikTok Latinx Trailblazer as part of their creator spotlight series for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Kate Aurthur editor Elizabeth Olsen is one of creative leaders honored for Variety’s 2022 Power of Women presented by Lifetime. For more, click here. Elizabeth Olsen’s film career began — explosively — with the 2011 Sundance sensation “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” after which she went to co-star in a number of independent films. But she soon noticed, Olsen tells Variety in an interview for her Power of Women cover story, that she was perhaps being pigeonholed. “I wasn’t being considered for studio films,” Olsen says. “I asked my agent and manager why, and they said, ‘Well, you don’t do them.’”

K.J. Yossman The Royal Television Society (RTS) annual convention, which took place all day Thursday (Sept. 27) in London, U.K., brought together some of television’s biggest hitters including Warner Discovery, Disney, Sky, ITV and BBC. The title – and theme – of this year’s convention was “The Fight For Attention” and the broadcasters and content creators discussed challenges, strategy and sustainability, especially in the shadow of a looming recession. Undoubtedly, content is still the most important factor for broadcasters, streamers and viewers alike. “Content is still probably the most – for sure, in my opinion – the most important [factor],” in terms of consumer choice, said Warner Bros Discovery International president Gerhard Zeiler, who said that as well as continuing to invest in local content the company was of course investing in franchises such as Harry Potter, Game of Thrones and more. Unsurprisingly, Jan Koeppen, president of IP powerhouse The Walt Disney Company EMEA, also said that in an era of choice, content would be the deciding factor. Said Koeppen: “Even with economic woes that we have right now, people are going back to quality, and I think great content will win.”

Deadline.Zeiler specifically mentioned “Harry Potter,” as well as “Game of Thrones” and DC movies, to be part of the future endeavors that will bring the company success.While there were no specifics of what the “Harry Potter” franchise will look like in the future, there has long been talk of a TV series circulating — although Warner Bros. and HBO Max both have previously denied rumors.“There are no ‘Harry Potter’ series in development at the studio or on the streaming platform,” Warner Bros. and HBO Max said in a joint statement in January 2021.However, it is unclear whether or not that has changed, or if there are any updated developments to a “Potter”-verse, as Zeiler suggested.Later that year, Daniel Radcliffe expressed what role he would want to play in the event of a reboot.“I would probably want to go with like, Sirius [Black] or [Remus] Lupin,” he said at the time.Most recently, HBO Max released the “Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts” documentary in January to celebrate the franchise’s two decades of success.Late “Harry Potter” star Alan Rickman, who played professor Severus Snape, left behind memories from the original franchise before he died.

Selome Hailu Viewership of “House of the Dragon” Episode 6 drew 3% more viewers than Episode 5, Variety has learned exclusively. The series is now seeing steady bumps with each installation; Episode 6 marks its third consecutive week of growth. (Episodes 4 showed a 5% increase and Episode 5 showed a 3% increase, as exclusively reported by Variety.) The calculation of these increases account for both cable viewership across four airings on HBO on Sunday, as recorded by Nielsen, and viewers across HBO Max and other HBO platforms through the night. The specific count of people who watched “House of the Dragon” Episode 6 has not been disclosed by Warner Bros. Discovery, though Variety was able to confirm the percent increase in viewership. Additionally, as of Sept. 20, Season 1 was seeing an average of 29 million viewers per episode, a significant feat for any cable series, even with the help of streaming.

Naman Ramachandran Universal’s ‘Ticket to Paradise,’ starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney, and Warner Bros.’ “Don’t Worry Darling,” with Florence Pugh, Harry Styles and Chris Pine, were in a close tussle at the U.K. and Ireland box office, with the former winning narrowly. “Ticket to Paradise” collected £2.8 million ($3.03 million) to top the box office, edging “Don’t Worry Darling,” which took £2.7 million ($2.99 million) to second place, according to numbers released by Comscore. Disney’s “Avatar” rerelease placed third with £1.2 million. After two weeks atop the box office, Disney’s “See How They Run” dropped to fourth position in its third weekend with £473,222 for a total of £3.6 million.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Online video is taking up the role of growth engine for the Asia Pacific video industry as free-TV in the region moves into long-term decline, says a new report. The video sector is forecast to remain robust this year, but recession could deal a blow to sector performance in 2023. Video sector revenues – defined as subscription fees and advertising generated by free TV, pay-TV and online video platforms – in 14 Asia-Pacific markets are forecast to will grow by 6.4% in the current year to reach $143 billion, according to Media Partners Asia.

Christopher Vourlias Production is underway in Romania and Hungary on the new HBO Max Original “Spy/Master,” a spy drama series set during the height of the Cold War that will star British Independent Film Award-nominated actor Alec Secăreanu (“God’s Own Country,” “RUXX”). The 6 x 50’ series, which was the winner of HBO’s national screenwriting competition in Romania, marks one of the streaming service’s final productions from Central and Eastern Europe. As Variety first reported in July, parent company Warner Bros. Discovery will no longer produce originals for HBO Max in the Nordics (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland), Central Europe, the Netherlands and Turkey, and will also remove some content from its platform in order to free up licensing deals elsewhere.

K.J. Yossman Warner Bros. Discovery Intl President Gerhard Zeiler has set out the company’s post-merger strategy, re-iterating his belief in cinema as well as his commitment to “local stories,” despite the fact that HBO Max recently halted local original programming across a number of European territories, including in the Nordics, Central Europe, the Netherlands and Turkey. “If you want to be a global player, you have to have relevant local stories,” Zeiler said at the Royal Television Society’s (RTS) annual convention in London on Tuesday morning. “I mean don’t misunderstand me, the big kids will always be the Batmans, the Elvises, the Black Adams, which premieres next month here in the U.K.” He also pointed out that WBD invests in local films, citing productions in Japan and Germany, as well as streaming content.

Gerhard Zeiler has talked up the “development of franchises” including Harry Potter, DC and Game of Thrones as the key priority for the merged entity six months after he was handed the top international role.

Professor Severus Snape, portrayed by the late Alan Rickman, is an intricate part of the "Harry Potter" legacy. However, in revealing new diary entries meticulously kept by the actor and shared with The Guardian, the infamous Snape almost never was – as Rickman wanted out of his role as the devious dark-sided wizard.  Rickman passed away in 2016 after battling cancer. In an excerpt dated Dec.

Batgirl” was one of the most anticipated movies of the year. The film, which cast Leslie Grace as the first Latina Batgirl, would be the first live-action adaptation of the character, something that a lot of fans were looking forward to. In August, the movie was shelved by Warner Brothers, but Grace couldn’t resist sharing some clips of her hard work.‘Batgirl’ canceled: The reason Warner Bros will not release the film after spending $90 millionLeslie Grace reacts after Warner Bros.

scrapped “Batgirl” movie.Leslie Grace shared a slew of behind-the-scenes clips from the canceled film on TikTok Sunday, including her training and transformation.The “In the Heights” star, 27, posted a montage from her time on set as singer Omar Apollo’s song “Evergreen” played in the background.Shots included Grace training for her fight scenes, getting her makeup done, wearing her superhero costume and filming green screen scenes. One snippet of the video also shows actual footage from a camera.“I couldn’t resist,” she captioned her 15-second snap.Grace’s fans took to the comments to give her support after Warner Bros.

Olivia Wilde is being publicly supported by more than 40 crew members and studio executives over her ‘Don’t Worry Darling’ controversy. They joined forces to deny a report director Olivia, 38, and the film’s star Florence Pugh, 26, got in a “screaming match” on the set of the actress’ thriller. Warner Bros.

"Don't Worry Darling" did not disappoint at the box office, darling. Olivia Wilde's sophomore release earned $19.2 million domestically, nabbing the top spot across theatrical releases nationwide.

Imagine being an actor cast in the leading role in a high-profile, big-budget superhero movie, and then film and wrap production — only to have the completed movie shelved by the studio under murky circumstances in the midst of a corporate shuffle.

Refresh for latest…: There was extra oomph at the international box office this weekend as Disney’s rerelease of 20th Century Studios’ Avatar grossed $20.5M from 50 offshore markets for a $30.5M global launch. The remastered 4K HDR version of the biggest movie ever was catnip to fans with No. 1s in several markets and, as designed, sets the table for James Cameron’s upcoming sequel, Avatar: The Way of Water.

Rebecca Rubin Film and Media Reporter In the end, there was no need to worry, darling. Olivia Wilde’s “Don’t Worry Darling,” a psychological thriller whose off-screen drama rivaled any antics in the actual movie, scored at the box office in its opening weekend, collecting a leading $19.2 million from 4,113 North American theaters. At the international box office, the movie added another $10.8 million for a global tally of $30 million. Those ticket sales indicate that behind-the-scenes scandals didn’t ding interest in the film, which co-stars Florence Pugh and Harry Styles. All the talk about Spitgate, awkward press conferences and a seemingly endless stream of tabloid fodder may have even boosted awareness. (Well, that, and the overwhelming desire to watch the world-famous pop star in his first major film role.) Whatever the reason that brought audiences to theaters, it’s an impressive debut for the $35 million-budgeted “Don’t Worry Darling.”

had a ‘screaming match’ on the set of Don’t Worry Darling.The film has been at the centre of speculation for months, with it being claimed leading actress Pugh, 26, and director WIlde, 38, were embroiled in a ‘feud’. The rumours only amped up when Pugh limited her promotion of the film, missing the press conference at Venice Film Festival (although it was said this was down to filming commitments on Dune 2).Most recently, a report from Vulture claimed the pair got into a fierce argument on set, but a group of crew members from the Warner Bros film have claimed in a letter that the ‘allegations about unprofessional behaviour on the set of Don’t Worry Darling are completely false’.

Leslie Grace has shared behind-the-scenes footage of the now-canceled DC Comics film Batgirl. The actor and singer shared a video on TikTok where she can be seen training for the superhero movie.

J. Kim Murphy Leslie Grace, the star of the now-canceled DC Comics film “Batgirl,” has shared more behind-the-scenes footage of the production, nearly two months after the project was axed by Warner Bros. Discovery. “I couldn’t resist,” Grace wrote in the description for a TikTok that she posted on Saturday morning. Set to “Evergreen” by Omar Apollo, the video contains footage of Grace through various stages of production, recording herself with a Gotham hero’s signature smokey eye makeup, rehearsing complex fight choreography and taking a wire-assisted tumble in front of a blue screen. The video concludes with Grace, grinning, riding a mechanical rocking horse in the full purple Batgirl costume, complete with goggles and a leather jacket.